Tuesday, November 30, 2010

in the midst of a big deadline of 25 illustrations for the arabic pastry cookbook, sweets of araby, an opportunity to paint something completely different from what i had been intensely working on arose and i took a few days to indulge myself in a totally different process.

i knew the size, as the tarot show had a minimum size, and i knew the content, as i drew this card, the 6 of wands—victory, to paint for the portland tarot card exhibition.

wanting to do something totally different than brightly colored paintings on bright white paper that i had sketched and designed previously, i chose to gesso the canvas black for starters. then i put into place an interference blue border of 2 inches, leaving the corner squares for interference gold.

working without a sketch, i just went with the flow and my intuition. came up with the idea of the i-ching, and as i researched this, which has hexagrams of 6 lines, it was perfectly logical to do the first hexagram of the i-ching, which is six unbroken lines, Ch'ien, THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN both above and below. how auspicious as the 6 of wands could be represented by the 6 lines. one of the interpretations of the 6 of wands tarot card i discovered is victory over difficulties. so appropriate to what i have been dealing with, i could not have asked for a more positive card! and the i-ching hexagram 1—ch'ien, the creative, above and below, felt divinely guided.

next, i painted the black gesso with some dark colors to give it depth and texture. and then using more interference paint colors, i painted in the hexagram. the circle enclosing it seemed like a natural organic progression to represent the sun, earth, moon, creative energy, egg, birth, life. and the lines extending beyond the circle representing another aspect of the 6 of wands...and the number 6 at the bottom.

finally i added black circles on to the gold corner squares and came up with four elements to be included: earth, represented by the bare feet standing in the center of the circle; fire; water; and heart—all done with love.

and the word "victory" which appears on the 6 of wands card was added as the finishing element.

the exhibition is up at the splendorporium in portland through the end of december and this painting is for sale!

wishing you all victory over any and all difficulties, creativity, heaven, and many blessings this holiday season!

About Me

artist and writer, author of Alice's Kitchen: Traditional Lebanese Cooking.
i have painted murals, illustrated children's books, designed and illustrated book jackets, and i work in a variety of media: watercolor, acrylic, egg tempera, oil, photography, ceramics, collage, and mixed media.
i teach art, lebanese cooking, and love to garden and preserve food in the lebanese tradition. please visit my website, blogs, facebook, and twitter for more images.